Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes scored a crucial free-kick against Arsenal on Sunday, but the goal has sparked controversy over the placement of the defensive wall. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta refused to criticize the referee, Anthony Taylor, but acknowledged that Fernandes had been “smarter” than the official.
The incident occurred when Taylor marched the Arsenal defensive line 11.2 yards back, further than the minimum 10 yards required by the Laws of the Game. Fernandes took advantage of the extra space to curl a dead ball inside the near post.
Gary Neville, a former Manchester United player and current pundit, criticized Arsenal’s defensive wall for not creeping forward to reduce the distance. “They didn’t do that, and it ends up that Bruno Fernandes has the ability to play it over the wall,” Neville said.
Arteta refused to blame the referee or his players for the goal, instead praising Fernandes for his cleverness. “He’s been smart and he took advantage, that is football,” Arteta said.
The Arsenal players, however, were not so diplomatic. Declan Rice, who scored Arsenal’s equalizer, took responsibility for the goal and acknowledged that the wall had been pushed too far back.
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Rice also felt that the referee had made a mistake by not allowing the wall to creep forward. “The wall did feel far back,” Rice said. “Even on our free-kick, when Martin [Odegaard] took it, they felt far back as well, more than usual.”
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim noticed the issue with the defensive wall but had no intention of helping Arsenal out. “It was clear, both free-kicks,” Amorim said. “So when it’s your free kick, you don’t say anything. When it’s the opponent, you try to push because it’s a big difference.”
Christian Eriksen, a Manchester United midfielder, explained that the extra distance made a significant difference for a dead-ball specialist like Fernandes. “It makes a very big difference,” Eriksen said. “When the ball is over the wall, you don’t need to hit it as high.”
